PRIDE GUIDE 1997 GAY PEOple's ChrONICLE C-19

The lesbian-gay book

boom is now a steady rise

by Tom Rappa

Coinciding with Gay Pride Month, June 1997 will be the sixth annual National Lesbian and Gay Book Month. The goal of the book month is to use the time of heightened awareness of our sexual orientation to bring lesbian and gay literature to the attention of a wider public, much in the way that Black History and Women's History months have done with their respective literatures.

In an April 28 Publishers Weekly article, publishers and booksellers discussed the lesbian and gay book market, its ups, downs and subtle changes.

"From 1993 to about 1995, there was a big, but brief, flurry of activity among mainstream publishers,

who thought there were riches

in store for them in the gay '90s," Keith Kahla, general editor of St. Martin's Stonewall Inn told the magazine.

This activity is attributed to the April, 1993 lesbian-gay March on Washington and to the following year's festivities marking the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. These two events convinced mainstream publishers that there was money to be made.

“The New York publishing world went after the gay and lesbian market with a vengeance," said Barbara Grier, president of Naiad Press, a publisher of lesbian fiction. "It didn't matter that they didn't know what they were doing. They just wanted to be in this market, and so they paid out huge advances which they had no hopes of recouping. When they didn't make back their money, some decided this market wasn't for them."

Carol Seajay, editor and publisher of Feminist Bookstore News, told the magazine, "They believe that a book targeted to lesbians won't sell more than 25,000 copies. As a result, they don't back those books with advertising dollars, and because they don't support them, they don't sell more than 25,000 copies. It's a classic self-fulfilling prophecy."

Consequently, many publishers were declaring the market dead. “Not so," said Kahla. "What's happening now is a slow, steady increase for gay and lesbian books from mainstream publishers. No one is getting rich, but there is a solid market here, and publishers are now approaching it more realistically."

The changes in lesbian and gay literature have been subtle. "The shift has been from 'Now that I know I'm gay, what do I do?' to 'Of course I'm gay;. The question is, How do I live my life?" said Kahla.

Another change is that books are featuring more protagonists who just happen to be gay.

"We're publishing novels in which the main character is a lesbian and it's no big deal.” said Claire Kirch, publicity manager and marketing manager for Spinsters Ink, lesbian press.

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Books with the topic of AIDS have also changed.

"Instead of selling books on AIDS about the disease itself, we're seeing more interest in books that are geared toward helping

those with AIDS or HIV get on with their lives." said Kevin Drewery, senior book buyer for Lambda Rising in Washington, D.C. This is illustrated with the examples Positive Cooking: Cooking for People Living with HIV and Cooking for Life: A Guide to Nutrition and Food Safety for the HIVPositive Community.

Humor titles are surfacing as the most popular and consistant in sales, titles like David Sedaris's Barrel Fever and his current hit Naked, with lesbian humor books at an all time sales high with titles like The History of Lesbian Hair by Mary Dugger and Lesbianism Made Easy by Helen Eisenbach.

"Lesbian and gay humor is really big." said Kirch, "Some of the humor [in these books] does reinforce stereotypes, but its also creating a sense of identity and community.

"It shows we're ready and able to laugh at ourselves in a positive way," Kirch added.✔

F.A.C.T. and the AIDS Taskforce Salutes Pride

The F.A.C.T. Program,

now a part of the AIDS Taskforce, takes great delight

in saluting Pride 1997.

Stop by our booth at Pride.

For more information about F.A.C.T. and nutrition support through the AIDS Taskforce, phone 216-621-0766 x242

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